Total pages in book: 51
Estimated words: 48854 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 244(@200wpm)___ 195(@250wpm)___ 163(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 48854 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 244(@200wpm)___ 195(@250wpm)___ 163(@300wpm)
I eat my breakfast slowly, and as I finish the yogurt, I’m brought coffee and fruit in a bowl. Each of them nods to me, but they don’t speak. It’s as if they’ve all been ordered to be silent.
I settle on the patio and listen to the waves crashing below us. But as much as I try to read and focus on the story before me, I know I can’t ever think of anything other than the man who’s risking his life being here.
Mid-afternoon brings heat and tension. The air is thick. A storm is coming. I can feel it in my bones and I’m pretty sure the men moving around the house can feel it as well. I’ve moved from the patio, the breeze has picked up, and I needed to think in silence.
I’m in the library—a sanctuary—curled in the window seat with a book I haven’t touched in ten minutes. I keep thinking about the way Nico looked when I left him. Tired. Fractured. Like he’s unraveling piece by piece and I’m the thread that keeps pulling.
I’m still lost in the thought when someone clears their throat.
I look up.
Marco.
My stomach flips.
“Signorina,” he says with a nod.
I close the book slowly. “Marco.”
He steps inside the library like he owns the space. His eyes scan the shelves, the windows, and finally, me.
“The Boss wanted to speak with you before dinner this evening,” he says.
I offer a tight smile. “Isn’t that what’s expected of me? To be available at his every whim?” I’m being a brat, and I know it will get me in trouble, but I can’t help myself.
He chuckles, toothpick twitching in the corner of his mouth. “Your husband doesn’t like to be kept waiting. He wants you to know when you are expected and what is expected of you. Over time, you will learn how to please him.” His words send a cold shiver down my spine.
“I’m not a slave,” I say, meeting his gaze. “I’m a human being.”
He watches me carefully like he’s trying to see something under the surface. I keep my expression neutral because this is one of the men closest to Ignacio. If he suspects what’s going on between Nico and me, we can both be killed.
“Just be careful, Lelia.” My name sounds like a warning in his mouth.
And then he turns and walks out.
I sit there for a long time, staring at the space where he stood.
He knows something. Or he thinks he knows.
And that’s almost worse.
It’s only when I’m in my bedroom again that I think about him.
Nico has been on my mind, but I haven’t had a moment to talk to him.
My mind hasn’t properly drifted to our silent moments together.
Not until I’m alone.
And even then, I realize I think too much.
Nico is dangerous. But not in the way I’m afraid for because I know he’ll keep me safe. It’s him I’m worried about.
He’s dangerous because he makes me feel like I could be more than this.
More than leverage.
More than a pretty thing promised to the Boss of a violent organization with bloodied hands.
He’s dangerous because when he looks at me, I feel like I matter.
Chapter 16
Domenico
The tension in the house is building the closer we get to the wedding. But it’s not only the mansion that’s alive with electricity, I am too because I know that there aren’t many more evenings I can sneak into Lia’s room to see her. And I need a concrete plan.
It’s only a couple of days later when I hear a car pulling up to the mansion, and I don’t realize it could hold the answer to my prayers.
I see him before he sees me—crossing the gravel courtyard beside the fountain, flanked by two guards who don’t know what kind of man they’re escorting. He walks like he’s still in New York. Confident. Quick. Dangerous in the quiet way that matters.
I keep my distance.
Watch.
Assess.
Guillermo has the look of someone who’s seen too much and learned not to flinch. His eyes scan every shadow. Every corner. It’s been less than five minutes and he already knows where every exit is.
I was on my way to see Lia, to talk to her about a plan that’s been formulating in my mind since last night, but this stops me dead in my tracks. I’ve known about Guillermo since I was a kid when my father sat me down and trained me on every man in the Vitale familia. But now that he’s here, he stalks in like a hero and a protector.
He steps into the house and the air changes. He’s worked for Lia’s father for longer than I’ve been alive. He has been Lia’s bodyguard back in New York for years. Now all I can do is pray Cassio doesn’t follow this bastard.
“You must be the new guy,” he tells me, and I can see the smirk curling his lips. He’s testing me. I respect that because he’s looked after the woman who’s stolen my heart since the moment I laid my eyes on her.